So many questions are considered in the Politics and Ethics class I am auditing. Why do German words have so many extra letters? Neecha works. Why does the young woman who sits next to me raise her hand with her palm facing toward her? Is this a thing? Why does she raise her hand so often when she hasn’t formulated what she wants to say and, by actual count, said “like” 18 times in 90 seconds? I know the class guide lines say that class participation counts 20%, but surely quality counts.

Actually, attending this class is the most interesting thing I have done recently. Lots of readings, all available on the class website. You can just read it on your device. All extremely readable and compelling and long. Dr. G. has chosen translations that make for easy reading except for the translation of Nietzsche. Maybe it’s just impossible to make an easy read out of Nietzsche. I really searched around on the web to find help and was marginally successful there. One conclusion: Nietzsche was very impressed with himself.

In “On the Genealogy of Morality,” we considered at great length the difference of “good and evil” and “good and bad.” I just found words that I thought worked for me: Naughty and nice and virtuous and wicked. Not so much. I came away from class with much more meaningful synonyms, in N.’s thinking.

Students called out, and the professor made a list, of “good things.” Seems to me, these were all behaviors. Things we can choose to be. Friendly, grateful, humble, loyal, merciful, respectful, and so on.

GOOD (intentional caps) things, which N. considered to be “noble,” seem to be innate: smart, creative, artistic, beautiful. You’ve either got it or you don’t.

I dare to question N. on this. Silently. Noblesse does not necessarily oblige.

Our professor models ethics. I think, possibly the most ethical person I have ever encountered. He assesses his students’ work blindly. No names on papers. Hard copies due at 3 p.m. and considered late and docked a letter grade at 3:01. When it comes to papers, I sort of wish I weren’t auditing and Dr. G. would be reading mine.

I will come away from this class with different ethical values for myself, a different way of thinking about morality.

And I am learning a lot from the ways that students “get up” for this 8 a.m. class. I am an early riser and walk about half way to class which works for me. I see one boy sprinting around the building a few times before class. Then there is the young woman (You may remember her from my first paragraph.) She seems to be the only girl in class who comes nicely put together. She sits down, and opens two beverages in front of her:

and

So much to learn from the insights of this age group.

Snapped this picture of a trucker’s protest from my classroom window at Willamette at 8 a.m. this morning. We had to move to another location for class because the truckers’ airhorns were deafening.

Supposedly, about 1000 big rigs will be here, circling the capitol all day, blasting their horns. Many of them are loaded with timber. Usually, cedar and fir logs smell wonderful. Today, all you can smell is diesel.

Our legislature is just inside the capitol there considering the Oregon Cap and Trade bill, in its greatly revised and modified 2020 form,

Under a cap and trade program, the state puts an overall limit on emissions and auctions off pollution permits or “allowances” for each ton of carbon industries plan to emit. Only the largest polluters are targeted. The state aims to reduce emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

It’s not an easy question. Of course, it’s as much about money as it is about pollution. And there isn’t an easy answer.

The class I am auditing at Willamette is called Ethics and Politics. To a person, every member of the class strongly supports the First Amendment and the right to a peaceful protest and to counter protest. After class, some of the class members, young, engaging 18-year-olds, walked back and forth in the crosswalks the truckers were blocking. A peaceful counter protest. Where you see the orange cones is where I normally pay to park. I was forewarned and walked to class today.

I walked around to the other side of the capitol, the front, where a crowd was gathered. I chatted up a few folks. You could pretty much tell by looking who stood for what. I tried to listen empathetically to both sides. I repeat, no easy answers.

As they did last year, a number of Republican legislators are threatening to walk out to prevent a quorum’s being present for a vote. Apparently, they have to leave the state so that they cannot be brought back forcibly by Oregon state troopers. Last year, they went just across the border into Washington where they hung out at a casino.

“This is the place where . . . Texas patriots made their last stand — the beautiful, beautiful Alamo.”

There is nothing beautiful about the Alamo. It is an important landmark in our history, but it is, appropriately, a sad, dilapidated mission. I know that POTUS doesn’t know history, but his speech writers should have known better than this. Many of Texas’ heroes — including Bowie and Crockett — died at the Alamo. Texans were slaughtered and soundly defeated at the hands of Santa Ana’s large, well-armed army.

But the Alamo was NOT their last stand. They stood victorious at San Jacinto just a few days later. and wiped out the Mexican in eighteen minutes. THIS was their last stand!

This is a big sign displayed at our hospital. Nice idea, but seriously? How many of us have anyone who is interested in hearing about our feelings? My blog is my best friend.

🙂

Someone shared this on Facebook early this morning:

Nevermind!

I wasn’t in a battle to defeat January.

At my age, every day is a gift to be celebrated no matter what. I readily admit, sometimes I really have to be diligent to find something to celebrate and to put the negatives into manageable boxes.

And I admit I’ve had a lot of experience doing that, but the wisdom of age isn’t everything. The insights of youth are very valuable too.

Believe me! I do remember how challenging it is to get up every morning and go to a job you do not love, perhaps while raising children and dealing with a toxic relationship and health issues. I get it. The advice of this old woman is: Do not let the hard stuff be the focal point of your day.

Sometimes, first thing in the morning, I have to get right into a hot shower to get everything to work. But, lucky me, I do have a shower just a few feet away. Somedays, I have more than one doctor appointment, but I love all my doctors and can drive myself to those appointments. Some mornings, a dog or two has thrown up during the night, but I can afford to take her to the vet, and no one has ever been as glad to greet me when I get home.

What? No one will be bringing you flowers, candy, jewelry, or something ghastly from Victoria’s Secret? Oh, thank god!! But yesterday, I mailed a box of her favorite See’s to my mother (soft-centers these days). How lucky is that? Just buy some chocolate for yourself, for heaven’s sake!

It’s a new month. Let’s do this!